Red Panda Escapes From London Zoo

The fauna of Regents Park got a little more exotic yesterday when a red panda escaped its enclosure at London Zoo. The mammal, a little larger than your typical cat, was spotted by park security in a nearby tree at 3am on Monday morning. After failed attempts to lure the animal down, zoo staff used a tranquiliser dart to retrieve the critter. An inquiry is under way into how the creature escaped. Red pandas are only very distantly related to textbook pandas, but are similarly endangered and definitely as cute as their more famous namesakes. Image by Brunswyk.